Walt Disney reported its earnings for the March quarter on Tuesday. Going by the numbers, the company’s India businesses continued to be in a tight spot.
What Happened: The company in its regulatory filing revealed that Disney+Hotstar lost around 23 lakh subscribers during the January-March period. The streaming platform currently has 3.6 crore subscribers in India. The platform’s Average Monthly Revenue Per Paid Subscriber also took a 45% hit going down to $0.70 from $1.28 posted in the December quarter. The company attributed the drop to lower advertising revenue.
Star India’s revenue for the quarter was at $105 million, down around 17% from the $127 million posted in the same quarter last year. The operating losses for the venture narrowed to $27 million from $99 million posted in the year-ago period.
See Also: Tata Stock Tanks 9% After Q4: Why Brokerages Are Divided
The company said that the operating loss at Star India decreased due to lower programming and production costs
attributable to the non-renewal of the Board of Control for Cricket in India rights. The global entertainment behemoth added that this was partially offset by an increase in costs for Indian Premier League matches due to more matches aired in the current quarter compared to the prior-year quarter.
Walt Disney disclosed incurring over $2 billion in charges due to goodwill impairments related to Star India and entertainment linear networks in India. This was from Disney’s entry into a binding agreement with Reliance Industries during the quarter, aimed at contributing Star India's operations to a new joint venture.
Goodwill impairment occurs when a company pays more than the book value for an asset, and subsequently, the value of that asset declines.
Read Next: Indegene IPO Day 3: Subscription At 9.54x, GMP Stable
Don't miss a beat on the share market. Get real-time updates on top stock movers and trading ideas on Benzinga India Telegram channel.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.